TWI460878B - Solid state lighting units and methods of forming solid state lighting units - Google Patents

Description

Solid state light emitting unit and method of forming same

The present invention relates to solid state lighting, and more particularly to solid state lighting panels comprising solid state lighting assemblies.

The solid state lighting panel can be used as a solid state backlight unit for displays, as a full illumination panel, as a backlight for signs, and/or for other purposes. Solid state backlight units for liquid crystal displays (LCDs) typically include a discrete source of light arranged in a two dimensional array behind the LCD screen. The discrete light sources can produce white light or near white light that can be used to illuminate an LCD display, such as a color LCD display. In order for an LCD display to display an image of uniform color and/or intensity on a screen, it may be desirable for the backlight unit to provide spatially uniform (color and intensity) light to the LCD screen. However, this may be difficult because discrete light sources may be spaced apart from one another in the backlight unit. In particular, as the brightness of the solid state light source increases, it may be desirable to arrange the light sources (for example) with increasing spacing between the sources to reduce heat dissipation and/or increase the efficiency of the display.

When solid state lighting units including arrays of solid state light emitting devices are used for full illumination, similar problems associated with color uniformity, efficiency, and/or heat dissipation may result.

A solid state lighting unit in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention includes a plurality of solid state lighting blocks including a flat surface and a plurality of solid state light sources on the flat surface. The light unit includes a plurality of rod support members. Each of the rod support members includes at least two of the plurality of squares attached thereto to form respective rod assemblies, and the solid bodies on the solid light squares of a rod assembly The individual light sources are electrically connected in series such that they are simultaneously excited when a voltage is applied thereto.

The solid state lighting unit can further include a panel support member, and the plurality of rod assemblies can be attached to the panel support member on a side of the shaft support member of the shaft assembly opposite the solid state light square.

The panel support member can include a cover bottom attached to the plurality of solid body blocks opposite to the plurality of solid state light-emitting blocks.

The solid state lighting unit can further include a heat sink on the bottom of the cover. A heat sink can be between the cover bottom and the plurality of shaft assemblies and/or the cover bottom can be between the heat sink and the plurality of shaft assemblies. In some embodiments, the heat sink can include a first heat sink between the cover bottom and the plurality of rod assemblies, and the solid state lighting unit can further include a second heat sink on the cover bottom such that the cover The bottom is between the first heat sink and the second heat sink. The heat sink can include a sheet of thermally conductive material configured to conduct heat generated by the solid state lighting device to the cover and configured to reduce the solid state lighting unit by spreading the conducted heat to the area of the heat sink Thermal unevenness in the middle.

Each of the plurality of rod assemblies can include a thermally conductive elongate member, and the plurality of rod assemblies can be arranged side by side in the solid state lighting unit. Each of the rod assemblies can further include a loopback connector at one end of the shaft assembly.

The solid state light emitting unit can further include a plurality of spacers between adjacent ones of the solid state light squares on the respective shaft assembly. Each of the plurality of spacers can comprise a non-conductive elastomeric material. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of spacers can include a protrusion configured to mate with a corresponding one of at least one of the adjacent solid state lighting squares.

Each of the blocks may include an electrical pad on its flat surface, and the solid state lighting unit may further include a wire loop extending between the pads on adjacent blocks for crossing the Spacers between the blocks electrically interconnect the pads of adjacent blocks. The height of the wire loop from the flat surface can be between about 0.02 吋 and about 0.12 。. An insulating material can be located on the wire loop.

The electrical pad can be in electrical communication with one or more of the light emitting diode (LED) wafers via circuit traces on the block such that when a sufficient voltage is applied to the electrical pads, current flows through the light source and the light sources emit useful light .

The solid state lighting unit can further include a reflector panel on the plurality of lighting blocks. The reflector panel can include a diffuse reflector. The reflector panel can include a plurality of circular apertures therein, the plurality of circular apertures being aligned with respective ones of the plurality of solid state lighting elements. The circular apertures can have side walls that form an angle with the flat surface of the block.

The solid state lighting unit can further include a plurality of pins including a body and a head. The pins can be attached to the cube using the pins, and the pins can extend through one of the apertures in the reflector panel and into a corresponding one of the apertures. The pins can include a diffuse reflective material. In addition, the pins can extend into the square but do not enter the rod support member.

The solid state lighting unit can further include a fastener extending between at least one of the rod support members and the panel support member. The fastener may have a head on a side of the rod support member opposite the panel support member, and the head may be disposed in the aperture of the block and have a height less than the height of the block. The head is spaced from the square such that it does not contact the block.

The solid state lighting unit can further include a reflector panel on the plurality of lighting blocks. The solid state lighting unit can further include a plurality of pins including a body and a head. The pins can be attached to the cube using the pins, and the pins can extend through one of the apertures in the reflector panel and into a corresponding one of the apertures. The pins can extend into the block but do not enter the rod support member.

A solid state light emitting unit according to other embodiments of the present invention includes a panel support member and a plurality of solid state light emitting blocks. Each of the solid state light emitting blocks includes a flat surface and a plurality of solid state light sources on the flat surface. The solid state lighting unit further includes a plurality of rod support members. Each of the rod support members includes at least two of a plurality of squares attached thereto to form respective rod assemblies, and the rod assemblies are mounted to the panel support members such that the rods A support member is between the panel support member and the block.

The solid state lighting unit can further include a heat sink between the panel support member and the plurality of rod assemblies. The heat sink can include a sheet of thermally conductive material having a region and configured to conduct heat generated by the solid state lighting device to the panel support member and configured to spread the conducted heat over the area of the heat sink. The thermal non-uniformity in the solid state lighting unit is reduced.

The solid state lighting unit can further include a reflector panel on the plurality of lighting blocks. The solid state lighting unit can further include a plurality of pins including a body and a head. The pins can be attached to the cube using the pins, and the pins can extend through one of the apertures in the reflector panel and into a corresponding one of the apertures. The pins can extend into the block but do not enter the rod support member.

The solid state lighting unit can further include a fastener extending between at least one of the rod support members and the panel support member. The fastener has a head on a side of the rod support member opposite the panel support member. The head can be disposed in the aperture of the square and have a height that is less than the height of the square. The head can be spaced from the square such that it does not contact the square.

A solid state light emitting unit according to other embodiments of the present invention includes at least one rod support member, first and second solid state light emitting blocks on the rod support member, and a first and second solid light emitting blocks Non-conductive spacers. The spacer may comprise a non-conductive elastomeric material. The spacer can include a protrusion configured to conform to a corresponding one of the at least one of the first solid state light square or the second solid state light square.

The solid state light emitting unit may further include an electric pad on a surface of the first and second blocks opposite to the rod supporting member, and an electric field extending between the electric pads for crossing the spacers to electrically exchange the electric pads Connected to the wire loop. The height of the wire loop from the flat surface can be between about 0.02 吋 and about 0.12 。.

The solid state light emitting unit can further include a plurality of parallel wire loops extending between the electrical pads to provide redundant electrical interconnections between the electrical pads.

The solid state light emitting unit may further include first and second adjacent electrical contacts on a surface of one of the first light emitting blocks opposite to the rod supporting member, and a surface of one of the second light emitting blocks opposite to the rod supporting member Third and fourth adjacent electrical contacts. The first wire loop may extend between the first pad of the first lighting block and the third pad of the second lighting block to electrically interconnect the first and third pads across the spacer, and second The wire loop may extend between the second pad of the first lighting block and the fourth pad of the second lighting block to electrically interconnect the second and fourth pads across the spacer. The first and second loops may be spaced apart by a distance d that is at least approximately equal to a height h of the first and second loops from the surfaces of the first and second light-emitting blocks.

The height h of the first and second loops may be less than about half of the distance d between the first and second loops.

A solid state light emitting block according to some embodiments of the present invention includes a substrate having a flat surface, a plurality of first series series connected LEDs on the substrate, the first strings having anodes at respective first ends of the blocks a contact and a cathode contact at a second end of the block opposite the first end; and a plurality of strings of second series-connected LEDs having anode contacts at respective second ends of the block and A cathode contact at the first end of the block. Each of the plurality of first strings and the plurality of second strings can include at least one first color LED string configured to emit light having a first wavelength when excited; and a second color LEDs A string configured to emit light having a second wavelength when excited. The cathode contact of the first color string of the first plurality of strings and the anode contact of the first color string of the second plurality of strings are from the first plurality of strings in a direction parallel to a longitudinal central axis of the block The cathode contact of the second color string and the anode contact of the second color string of the second plurality of strings are offset.

The cathode contact of the first color string of the first plurality of strings and the anode contact of the first color string of the second plurality of strings may be more than the cathode contact of the second color string of the first plurality of strings and The anode contacts of the second plurality of strings of the second plurality of strings are further from the second end of the block.

Some embodiments of the present invention provide a method of forming a solid state light emitting rod assembly including a rod support member, the rod support member including a plurality of positioning holes and a plurality of solid state light squares each including at least one positioning hole . The method can include placing a shank support member on a clamp, the clamp including at least one alignment pin such that the alignment pin extends through one of the plurality of locating holes of the shank support member, One of the plurality of squares is placed on the rod support member such that the locating pin extends through the locating hole in the block and the block is attached to the shank support member.

Attaching the block to the shank support member can include applying an epoxy glue to the shank support member prior to placing the block on the shank support member.

The method can further include placing a second block including a contact pad adjacent one end thereof on the jig such that a second alignment pin extends through one of the positioning holes in the second block and causes the second The end of the block is adjacent to the end of the first block, and the contact pads of the first block are electrically connected to the contact pads of the second block.

Electrically connecting the contact pads of the first block to the contact pads of the second block can include forming a loop connection between the contact pads of the first block and the contact pads of the second block. The height of the loop connection can be between about 0.02 吋 and about 0.12 。. Forming a loop connection between the contact pads of the first block and the contact pads of the second block can include forming a plurality of parallel loop connections between the contact pads of the first block and the contact pads of the second block. An insulating material can be formed on the ring connection.

The first block may include first and second contact pads and the second block may include first and second contact pads, and the methods may further include a first contact pad and a second block of the first block A first ring connection is formed between the contact pads, and a second ring connection is formed between the second contact pads of the first block and the second contact pads of the second block. The first ring connection and the second ring connection may be spaced apart by a distance d that is at least approximately equal to the height h of the first and second ring connections. The height h of the first and second ring connections may be less than about half of the distance d between the first and second ring connections.

Electrically connecting the contact pads of the first block to the contact pads of the second block can include providing a wire ribbon connection between the first block and the second block.

The methods can further include providing an insulating spacer between the first block and the second block. Providing an insulating spacer between the first square and the second square can include applying a liquid sealant in the seam between the first square and the second square and curing the dispensed liquid sealant. In some embodiments, providing an insulating spacer between the first square and the second square can include pressing a pre-formed insulating member in the seam between the first square and the second square. The preformed insulative member can include a protrusion configured to conform to a corresponding one of the edges of one of the first or second squares.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which <RTIgt; However, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, the embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and the scope of the invention will be fully conveyed to those skilled in the art. The same numbers in the text indicate the same elements.

It will be appreciated that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, such elements are not limited by the terms. These terms are only used to distinguish such elements from each other. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the invention. The term "and/or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing the particular embodiments, The singular forms "a" and "the" It should be further understood that the terms "comprising" and "comprising" are used in the context of the specification, the meaning The presence or addition of features, integers, steps, operations, components, components, and/or groups thereof.

All terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention belongs, unless otherwise defined. It should be further understood that the terms used herein are to be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning of the context of the specification and the related art, and should not be construed as an ideal or too formal meaning unless explicitly defined herein.

It will be appreciated that when an element such as a layer, region or substrate is referred to as "on another element" or "extending on another element," it may be directly or directly extended to the other element, or Intervening components. In contrast, when an element is referred to as "directly on the other element" or "directly on the other element," the intervening element is absent. It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as "connected to" or "coupled to" another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or the intervening element. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to another element, the intervening element is absent.

Relative terms such as "lower" or "above" or "upper" or "lower" or "horizontal" or "vertical" may be used herein to describe the relationship of one element, layer or region to another element, layer or region. As illustrated in the figure). It will be understood that the terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings.

Referring now to Figure 1, a solid state light emitting block 10 for use in a solid state lighting unit can include thereon a plurality of solid state light emitting element clusters 12 arranged in a regular and/or irregular two dimensional array. Block 10 can include, for example, a printed circuit board (PCB) on which one or more circuit components can be mounted. In particular, block 10 can include a metal core PCB (MCPCB) including a metal core having a polymer coating thereon on which patterned metal traces 13 can be formed. MCPCB materials and materials similar thereto are commercially available, for example, from The Bergquist Company. The PCB may further comprise a heavier cladding (4 oz. copper or more) and/or a conventional FR-4 PCB material with a hot aisle. MCPCB materials provide improved thermal performance compared to conventional PCB materials. However, MCPCB materials may also be heavier than conventional PCB materials that may not include metal cores.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, the cluster of light-emitting elements 12 is a multi-chip cluster of three solid-state light-emitting devices. In block 10, four clusters of light-emitting elements 12 are arranged in series in a first path 19 while four clusters of light-emitting elements 12 are arranged in series in a second path 21. The cluster of light-emitting elements 12 of the first path 19 is connected, for example, via electrical traces 13 to a set of three anode contacts 22 arranged at one of the first ends 10A of the block 10, and at a second end of one of the blocks 10. One of the three cathode contacts 24 is at one of 10B. The light-emitting element cluster 12 of the second path 21 is connected to a set of three anode contacts 26 arranged at the second end 10B of the block 10, and a set of three cathode contacts arranged at the first end 10A of the block 10. 28. Block 10 can further include an electrical test pad 15 between the clusters 12 of light emitting elements. The electrical test pads 15 are configured to allow for individual testing of the light emitting devices of the clusters 12 of light emitting elements.

Alignment notches 29 can be provided in block 10 to assist in the connection of an edge connector (not shown) and also prevent improper mounting of the edge connector. Additionally, notches 33 may be provided in the corners of the block 10 to avoid the reflector panel 40 (Fig. 7) and/or the shank on which the screws and/or blocks 10 of the panel support member 44 are mounted. Contact between the support members 20 (Fig. 8). Block 10 may further include one or more automated reference holes (not shown) that may be used to move the block 10 during automated manufacturing steps.

The solid state light emitting component cluster 12 can include, for example, organic and/or inorganic light emitting devices. An example of a solid state light emitting component cluster 12 for high power lighting applications is illustrated in FIG. The solid state light emitting device cluster 12 can include a packaged discrete electronic component including a carrier substrate 13 on which a plurality of LED wafers 16 are mounted. In other embodiments, the one or more solid state light emitting device clusters 12 can include LED wafers 16 mounted directly onto the electrical traces on the surface of the block 10 to form a multi-chip module or on-chip (chip-on- Board) assembly.

The LED chip 16 can include at least one red LED 16R, a green LED 16G, and a blue LED 16B. The blue and/or green LEDs may comprise InGaN-based blue and/or green LED wafers, which are available from Cree, Inc., the assignee of the present invention. The red LEDs can be, for example, AllnGaP LED chips available from Epistar, Osram, and others. Illumination device 12 can include an additional green LED to produce more available green light.

In some embodiments, LED 16 can have a square or rectangular perimeter with an edge length of about 900 μm or greater (ie, a so-called "power wafer"). However, in other embodiments, the LED wafer 16 may have an edge length of 500 μm or less (ie, a so-called "small wafer"). In particular, small LED chips can operate with better electrical conversion efficiency than power chips. For example, a green LED wafer having a maximum edge size of less than 500 microns (and as small as 260 microns) typically has a higher electrical conversion efficiency than a 900 micron wafer, and is known to typically produce 55 watts of electrical power dissipated per watt. Lumen's luminous flux, and the electrical power dissipated per watt produces up to 90 lumens of luminous flux.

As further illustrated in FIG. 2, the LED 16 can be covered by an encapsulation dome 14, which can be transparent and/or can include light scattering particles, phosphors, and/or other components to achieve a desired illumination pattern, Color and / or intensity. Encapsulated dome 14 (which may include curable polyoxygen or epoxy) may provide mechanical protection and/or environmental protection for LED 16. Although not illustrated in FIG. 2, the light-emitting component cluster 12 may further include a reflector cup surrounding the LED 16, a lens mounted above the LED 16, and one or more heat sinks for removing heat from the light-emitting device. An electrostatic discharge protects the wafer and/or other components.

The LED chips 16 of the cluster of light-emitting elements 12 in block 10 can be electrically interconnected as shown in the schematic circuit diagram of FIG. As shown therein, the LEDs 16 can be interconnected such that the blue LEDs 16B in the first path 19 are connected in series to form the string 30B. Likewise, the green LEDs 16G in the first path 19 can be arranged in series to form the string 30G. The red LEDs 16R can be arranged in series to form a string 30R. Each string 30R, 30G, 30B can be connected to a respective anode contact 22R, 22G, 22B arranged at the first end of the block 10 and a cathode contact 24 arranged at the second end of the block 10.

Strings 30R, 30G, 30B may include all or less than all of the corresponding LEDs in first path 19. For example, string 30B can include all of the blue LEDs 16B from all of the light-emitting component clusters 12 in the first path 19. Alternatively, string 30R, 30G, 30B may include only a subset of the respective LEDs in first path 19. Thus, the first path 19 can include three strings 30R, 30G, 30B arranged in parallel on the block 10.

The second path 21 on block 10 can include three strings 31R, 31G, 31B arranged in parallel. The strings 31R, 31G, 31B are respectively connected to the anode contacts 26R, 26G, 26B arranged at the second end of the block 10 and the cathode contacts 28R, 28G, 28B arranged at the first end of the block 10.

The first set of strings 30R, 30G, 30B have anode contacts 22R, 22G and 22B generally adjacent to the first end 10A of the block 10 and cathode contacts 24R, 24G generally adjacent to the second end 10B of the block 10. 24B. The second set of strings 31R, 31G, 31B have anode contacts 26R, 26G and 26B generally adjacent to the second end 10B of block 10 and cathode contacts 28R, 28G generally adjacent to the first end 10A of block 10. 28B.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the block 10 can have a longitudinal central axis 17, and the first set of strings 30R, 30G, 30B and the second set of strings 31R, 31G, 31B can be generally parallel to the longitudinal direction. The central axis 17 extends.

The anode and cathode contacts of the first color string of the first set of strings and the anode and cathode contacts of the first color string of the second set of strings may be compared to the second and/or of the first and second sets of strings Or the anode and cathode contacts of the third color string are disposed closer to the longitudinal center axis 17 of the block 10. For example, the anode and cathode contacts 22B, 24B, 26B, 28B of the blue strings 30B and 31B can be disposed more than the longitudinal center axis 17 from the anode and cathode contacts 22G, 24G, 26G, 28G of the green strings 30G and 31G. near. Similarly, the anode and cathode contacts 22G, 24G, 26G, 28G of the green strings 30G and 31G can be placed closer to the longitudinal center axis 17 than the anode and cathode contacts 22R, 24R, 26R, 28R of the red strings 30R and 31R.

The cathode contact of the first color string of the first set of strings and the anode contact of the first color string of the second set of strings are in a direction parallel to the longitudinal central axis 17 of the block 10 from the first set The cathode contact of the second color string of the string and the anode contact of the second color string of the second set of strings are offset. In detail, the cathode contact of the first color string of the first set of strings and the anode contact of the first color string of the second set of strings may be compared to the cathode of the second color string of the first set of strings The anode contacts of the second color string of dots and the second set of strings are further from the ends 10A, 10B of the block 10.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the cathode contact 24B of the blue string 30B and the anode contact 26B of the blue string 31B may be disposed more than the cathode contact 24G of the green string 30G and the anode contact 26G of the green string 31G. Farther from the end 10B of the block 10. Interleaving the contacts from the end 10B of the block 10 facilitates the connection of the contacts of the respective strings for, for example, forming a loopback connector using a wire loop.

It should be understood that although the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 through 3 includes 12 LED chips per cluster, which are electrically connected to form at least three LEDs 16 strings per path 19, 21, each illuminating device 12 may provide more And/or less than three LED chips 16, and each path 19, 21 on block 10 can provide more and/or less than three LED strings. For example, a cluster 12 can include two green LED wafers 16G, wherein the LEDs can be connected to form four strings per path 19,21. Likewise, in some embodiments including 12 clusters of green LED chips per cluster, two of the clusters 12 of green LEDs can be connected in series with each other, wherein each path 19, 21 can have only a single green LED wafer string. Moreover, block 10 may include only a single path 19 rather than a plurality of paths 19, 21 and/or more than two paths 19, 21 may be provided on a single block 10.

The plurality of blocks 10 can be assembled to form a larger illuminating rod body assembly 30 as illustrated in FIG. As shown therein, the shaft assembly 30 can include two or more squares 10, 10', 10" that are connected end to end. Thus, with reference to Figures 3 and 4, the leftmost square 10 can be respectively The cathode contact 24 of the first path 19 is electrically connected to the anode contact 22 of the first path 19 of the center block 10', and the cathode contact 24 of the first path 19 of the center block 10' can be electrically connected to the rightmost side. The anode contact 22 of the first path 19 of the block 10". Similarly, the anode contact 26 of the second path 21 of the leftmost block 10 can be electrically connected to the cathode contact 28 of the second path 21 of the center block 10', respectively, and the second path of the center block 10' can be The anode contact 26 of 21 is electrically coupled to the cathode contact 28 of the second path 21 of the rightmost block 10".

Additionally, the cathode contact 24 of the first path 19 of the rightmost square 10" can be electrically coupled to the anode contact 26 of the second path 21 of the rightmost square 10" by a loopback connector 35. For example, the loopback connector 35 can place the cathode 24R of the string 30R of the red LED wafer 16R of the first path 19 of the rightmost block 10" with the red LED chip of the second path 21 of the rightmost block 10" The anode 26R of the string 31R is electrically connected. In this manner, the string 30R of the first path 19 can be connected in series with the string 31R of the second path 21 by one of the conductors 35R of the loopback connector 35 to form a single string of red LED wafers 16R. The other strings of the paths 19, 21 of blocks 10, 10', 10" can be connected in a similar manner.

The loopback connector 35 can include an edge connector, a flexible circuit board, or any other suitable connector. Additionally, the loopback connector can include printed traces and/or wire loops formed on/in the block 10".

Although the shaft assembly 30 shown in FIG. 4 is a one-dimensional array of blocks 10, other configurations are possible. For example, block 10 can be connected in a two-dimensional array, with all of the blocks 10 being in the same plane; or connected in a three-dimensional configuration, wherein all of the blocks 10 are not all arranged in the same plane. Further, the block 10 need not be rectangular or square, but may be, for example, a hexagon, a triangle, or the like.

Referring to FIG. 5, in some embodiments, a plurality of rod assemblies 30 can be combined to form a light-emitting panel 40 that can be used, for example, as a backlight unit (BLU) for an LCD display and/or for use in Fully illuminated lighting panel. As shown in FIG. 5, the light panel 40 can include four rod assemblies 30, each of which includes six squares 10. The rightmost square 10 of each of the body assemblies 30 includes a loopback connector 35. Thus, each rod assembly 30 can include three LED strings (ie, one is red, one is green, and one is blue).

In some embodiments, the shaft assembly 30 can include three LED strings (one in red, one in green, and one in blue). Thus, a light panel 40 comprising nine pole assemblies can have 27 individual LED strings. Moreover, in a shank assembly 30 that includes six squares 10, each of which has eight solid state light emitting component clusters 12, an LED string can include 48 LEDs connected in series.

Referring to Figures 6A-6C, a plurality of blocks 10 can be assembled end-to-end to the rod support member 20, which can provide mechanical support and/or heat dissipation to the block 10. The rod support member 20 can comprise a material that is lightweight, strong and/or has a high thermal conductivity. For example, the rod support member 20 may include a metal such as aluminum. The rod support member 20 may have a thickness of about 0.020" to about 0.10". In general, the thickness of the rod support member 20 may affect the stiffness of the rod support member. Therefore, the thicker rod supporting member 20 can have increased stress resistance and vibration resistance, which can improve the reliability of the light emitting unit. As shown in the cross-sectional illustration of Figure 13, by providing one or more ridges or flanges 27 extending longitudinally along the surface or edge of the shaft support member 20, the weight of the rod support member 20 is not substantially increased. The rigidity of the rod support member 20 can be further increased.

The block 10 can be attached to the rod support member 20 using, for example, a film of the adhesive 13. During assembly, the block 10 can be aligned on the shank support member 20 by means of locating pins 15 in the clamp 17, which can extend through the shank support member 20 and the mating through holes 19 in the block 10. The adhesive may comprise a thin acrylic PSA of the 3M VLB series type having a thickness of 0.005" or less, or 3M 4905, or a similar adhesive; or a liquid dispersion interface such as RTV, or epoxy, or other adhesive or Hot interface.

The adhesive used to attach the block 10 to the rod support member 20 may or may not have a high thermal conductivity. While the shank support member 20 can act as a universal heat sink to provide enhanced heat dissipation to the block 10, the adhesive used to attach the block 10 to the shank support member 20 can provide negligible due to its small thickness. Heat resistance.

The blocks 10 on the rod support member 20 can be electrically connected as shown in Fig. 6B, which is a detailed description of the area in which the two blocks 10, 10' intersect at their opposite ends. For example, blocks 10, 10' may be electrically interconnected via wire loop interconnects 25 that extend between adjacent blocks 10, 10'. In this manner, adjacent anode and cathode pads 22, 24 on blocks 10, 10' can be interconnected in a desired manner. For example, LED strings 30, 31 of the same color on blocks 10, 10' can be connected in a single string having a single cathode connection at one end of the rod assembly 30 and having the other end of the rod assembly 30 Single anode connection.

Therefore, the LEDs of each color on the rod supporting member 20 can be excited by applying a single voltage. Wire loop interconnect 25 may additionally adjust for slight bending between adjacent squares, for example, during assembly, shipping, and/or use.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in Figure 6C (which is detailed in plan view of the area in which the two blocks 10, 10' intersect at their opposite ends), more than one wire loop interconnect 25 may Provided between respective pads 22 on adjacent blocks 10, 10" to provide a redundant electrical connection. Further, as shown in Figure 6C, the right side block 10' may include first and second pads 22R and 22G. , which may correspond to the anode contacts of the red and green strings of block 10. The cathode contacts 24R on the left block 10 may be electrically coupled to one of the adjacent blocks 10' via a first set of parallel wire loop interconnects 25A. Anode contact 22R. Similarly, cathode contact pad 24G on left side block 10 can be electrically coupled to a respective anode contact pad 22G on adjacent block 10' via a second set of parallel wire loop interconnects 25B. The second set of parallel wire loop interconnects 25A, 25B can be spaced apart by a distance d to reduce the likelihood of electrical shorting between the wire loop interconnects 25A, 25B.

The height of the wire loop interconnect 25 (shown as h in Figure 6B) can be made high enough to adjust the curvature of the shaft assembly 30, but not so high as to be deformed, or can be provided over the block 10 The panel 40 (Fig. 7) is deformed. Thus, wire loop interconnect 25 can have a height h between about 0.02" and about 0.12". As discussed below, the wire loop interconnect 25 can be formed using conventional large wire interconnect (LWI) technology.

In general, it may be desirable to provide a highly reliable, low cost electrical interconnect to establish electrical continuity across the spacing between adjacent squares 10, 10'.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present invention, block 10 includes two or more contact pads 22, 24 that are in electrical communication with one or more of the LED wafers via circuit traces or channels on block 10 or by other means. So that when a sufficient forward bias voltage potential is applied to the two pads 22, current flows through the at least one light source 16, causing it to emit useful light.

By placing the blocks 10, 10' end-to-end and interconnecting them in series in a circuit, if a sufficient voltage potential is applied, the light sources on more than one square can be illuminated simultaneously. With additional interconnects, more of the blocks 10 can be physically close to each other. This configuration can have a number of advantages in that it facilitates the construction of a wide range of decentralized illumination sources from a compact, standard and simple single block design. The decentralized illumination source can have other advantages: it spreads the emitted light very much directly and efficiently onto a larger area, such as may be commonly required for backlit LCD display panels, backlit signs, office lighting, or other applications.

The decentralized architecture can also provide a wide and/or even distribution of dissipated heat directly and without additional heat dissipating components. Generally, if the circuit substrate is an MCPCB material or a heavy clad material, or a conventional FR-4 having a hot path, the distributed light source can be mounted on an aluminum back panel or an anisotropic carbon back panel, and may not be needed in the system. Other main heat dissipation or dispersion components. In particular, a cooling fan is not required.

However, using this architecture, the decentralized light source of interconnected block 10 can be subject to mechanical stress and strain, including during the assembly of block 10 into display 100 or backlight assembly 10, or by itself over the backlight assembly. The bending that can be experienced in 10, especially during shrinkage and/or expansion caused by cooling and heating cycles. Moreover, the dispersed light source having the interconnected squares 10 may need to be relatively large relative to the size of the interconnected squares 10, such as when the squares 10 are small in area and/or the display 100 is relatively large in area Larger.

In some embodiments, a relatively large number of interconnects 25 may be required between blocks 10 to complete all of the desired circuitry. Therefore, the cost of forming the interconnects 25 and the failure rate of the interconnects 25 may be of concern. Therefore, interconnect 25 may be required to be relatively inexpensive. Furthermore, the interconnect 25 can be stable with respect to temperature cycling and the resulting expansion/contraction cycle. Additionally, the interconnect 25 can accommodate loads and/or bends without being prone to failure and can be electrically and/or physically compatible with the block 10 and the system in which the block 10 is used. Interconnect 25 can also establish and maintain a low resistance electrical continuous interface via normal product life exposure. In some embodiments, the interconnect 25 can have a very low profile with little above the plane of the protruding block 16 (on which the light source 14 is mounted) so as not to interfere with the light source 14 or other components of the system (such as can be mounted to The optical performance of the reflector panel on block 10.

In some embodiments of the invention, the interconnects may comprise a "large line" aluminum wire bond formed by the combination of ultrasonic wedges. These interconnects 25 can be extremely durable, reliable, inexpensive, and/or can be manufactured at high speed on automated machines such as those available from F&K Delvotec. It has been demonstrated that the A1 wire bond of the 0.008" and 0.012" aluminum wire on the gold pad on block 10 has a pull strength of more than 500 gm and a wedge shear strength of more than 1000 gm. Another advantage of the interconnects 25 is that the bonds can be fabricated ultrasonically without applying any external heat to the block 10. Since the interconnect 25 can be formed after the formation of the light source 14, excessive heat applied during the formation of the interconnect can be detrimental to the light source 14. For example, excessive heat can adversely affect the solder, sealant, adhesive, and/or other materials included in the light source 14.

The large wire interconnects 25 (although sturdy) may also be relatively small so that the pads 22 on the block 10 can be made relatively small, thereby saving space on the blocks. This in turn may allow for greater spacing between the pads 22 without the total increase in area occupied by the pads (all pads on block 10). As shown in FIG. 6B, one of the interconnects 25 and one of the contact pads 22, 24 may be passivated/insulated using an insulating material 37. Insulating material 37 can include, for example, liquid polyfluorene, which is applied to interconnect 25 and subsequently cured to form a solid passivation. It will be appreciated that the larger spacing between blocks 10 may be beneficial when there is a large difference in the potential of the adjacent pads on block 10, in which case the smaller interconnects 25 and pads 22 are enabled. Larger separation may allow for greater isolation and/or insulation and/or may help prevent the formation of undesirable current paths (eg, shorts or partial shorts) between the pads due to humidity, ions. Salt exposure, moisture, solvent agglomeration, intrusion of biological material onto the surface between the mats and the like may occur additionally.

With this greater spacing and for increased electrical isolation between adjacent pads 22 on block 10, slots can be used which greatly increase the potentially shorter effective path length and thus increase the spacing between pads 22 Effective dielectric strength. Similarly, when the extremely high bonding speed of the automatic wedge adapter is added, the relatively large wire size of the "large line" A1 wire in combination with the interconnect allows two or more combinations to be placed in a redundant manner. As shown in Figure 6C, there will additionally be only one interconnect. This can increase the reliability and/or durability of the distributed light source constructed by the block without substantially increasing the total cost.

As discussed above, the ring height of the interconnect 25 can also be low, in some cases no higher than the square on which the LEDs are mounted (and/or the interconnect pads 22 are formed and bonded to the interconnect 25) 0.020" above the plane of 10, or in other cases no more than 0.015" or 0.12" above the plane. By adjusting the height of the loop of the interconnect 25, one can adjust the expansion and contraction between the accommodated blocks 10 and The ability to bend at the gap between the blocks 10. As long as the wire loop height h is less than the spacing between adjacent independent interconnects 25 (e.g., the distance d in Figure 6C). In particular, the wire loop interconnects The height h of 25 may be less than about half of the spacing between adjacent independent interconnects 25. Thus, systems in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention may be able to withstand substantial tension/deflection/deformation without adjacent lines The ring interconnects 25 create undesirable contacts between each other. As mentioned above, redundancy (twice, triple or even quadruple) bonding can be made on a set of contact pads. It should be understood that parallel redundant lines Contact in the middle will not be a problem.

The large wire interconnects of adjacent blocks 10 as described above may not require wires or other hazardous materials (such as in some solder-based systems) and may generally not require reactive flux (if present and Can not be removed as a damaging agent on the block).

In other embodiments, the block interconnections may be accomplished via gold stripline bonding. Many advantages similar to LWI interconnects can be provided by using gold stripline bonding. For example, gold stripline bonding can be low cost, high reliability, bend adaptability, expansion/contraction flexibility, environmentally sensitive, highly automated, and/or redundant as needed. The gold strip line may have a height of 1 to 3 mils (0.001" to 0.003") and a width of 0.005" to 0.015", giving a rectangular cross section. However, some heat may need to be applied to bond the tape to the substrate. Gold strips may be slightly more expensive, but may be more stable in certain caustic environments and in some cases may provide lower loop heights and/or may allow for closer mat spacing due to rectangular cross-section lines There is a lack of tendency to "sweep" or shake in the direction of the forward direction of the axis.

Without departing from the scope of the invention, by using different wire components including elements or alloys, or any number of different sizes or cross-sectional shapes, or different bond pads (in terms of composition, shape, size, etc.), Those skilled in the art will recognize that some of the same benefits and other benefits are available.

Referring to Figure 6B, adjacent blocks 10 can be electrically isolated from one another by optional insulating spacers 32 disposed therebetween. Spacer 32 can include an elastomeric material that can accommodate the bending of backlight assembly 10 while also accommodating thermal expansion/contraction cycles. A spacer 32 can be formed using a liquid dispensing sealant, such as a Dow Corning 738 liquid polyoxynene encapsulant. When the spacer 32 includes a liquid encapsulant, the encapsulant can be dispensed before or after the formation of the in-line loop interconnect 25. The liquid sealant can be cured, for example, by heating the liquid sealant for a sufficient period of time. In some embodiments, the encapsulant can provide protection to the wire loop interconnect 25 and provide electrical isolation and/or mechanical protection to the block 10.

In other embodiments, the spacer 32 can include a preformed member, such as a PVC member, that can be press fit or otherwise provided between adjacent blocks 10, 10'. The preformed members can include protrusions 33 that can help hold the spacers 32 in place. Moreover, the base angle of the blocks 10, 10' can be chamfered to form a recess 23 that is configured to engage the protrusion 33.

Spacer 32 may include a high-k dielectric material to reduce and/or prevent electrical shorting between the electrical traces on block 10 and the metal of the MCPCB material of block 10.

Referring to Figure 7, in order to provide and/or improve the light that causes the LCD to display recirculation, a reflector panel 40 can be provided in the light emitting panel. The reflector panel 40 can have a length and width similar to the length and width of the two dimensional array. The reflector panel 40 can include a plurality of apertures 42 that can be aligned with the clusters 12 on the two-dimensional backlight array 36. The reflector panel 40 can include a lightweight reflective material. In some embodiments, the reflector panel 40 can comprise a white plastic foam material such as a fine polyethylene terephthalate (MCPET) plastic that has been treated as a lightweight white foam. Suitable MCPET materials are available from Furukawa Electric Co. of Tokyo, Japan. Thus, in addition to reflecting incident light, reflector panel 40 can help dispense incident light such that it reflects in a random direction, which can improve the uniformity of the LCD display.

The aperture 42 can be a circular aperture and can have a side wall 42A that is angled relative to the surface of the block 10, thus forming an optical resonant cavity around the cluster 12, as shown in Figures 9 and 10.

The illuminated panel assembly 100 is shown in an exploded perspective view in FIG. As shown in the figures, the illuminating panel assembly 100 can include a plurality of blocks 10 having clusters 12 arranged in a two-dimensional array thereon. The block 10 is mounted to a respective rod support member 20 that can be mounted for supporting on a panel support member (cover bottom) 44 that can include a metal sheet. It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, the block 10 can be mounted directly to the cover bottom 44. A reflector panel 40 including a plurality of apertures 42 for passing through is mounted over the block 10 such that the apertures 42 are aligned with the respective clusters 12 on the block 10.

An optional first thermal spacer, such as graphite thermal spacer 41, can be provided between the cover bottom 44 and the shaft support member 20. The first thermal spacer 41 can comprise, for example, an anisotropic carbon diffuser such as Spreadershield available from Graphtec International, Ltd. of Cleveland, Ohio. The thermal spacer 41 can be configured to conduct heat generated by the shank support member 20 to the cover bottom 40 and spread the conducted heat to the area of the heat sink. Thus, the first thermal spacer 41 can assist in residual thermal non-uniformities in the dispersion system. The first thermal spacer 41 can be held in place by a compressive force between the cover bottom 44 and the rod support member 20. Additionally or alternatively, the first thermal spacer 41 can be pre-installed in the cover bottom 44 which is held in place by, for example, double-sided pressure sensitive tape until the final assembly.

A second optional thermal spacer 45 can be provided on one of the outer surfaces of the cover bottom 44 (i.e., on the side of the cover bottom 44 opposite the shaft support member 20). The second optional thermal spacer 45 can act as a mask to shield the block 10 from thermal inhomogeneities, such as heat sources and/or heat sinks external to the display. For example, electronic drive circuitry, heat sinks, and/or other components near the back of the display can generate excess heat and/or act as a heat sink. These thermal inhomogeneities can result in LED wafers 16 on block 10 having different operating temperatures that can affect the color balance of the display because the dominant wavelength of the LEDs can be affected by the operating temperature. Providing a thermal spacer 45 on the exterior of the cover bottom 44 helps to maintain the LED wafer 16 on the block 10 at a consistent operating temperature.

As discussed above, block 10 can be attached to each of the individual shaft support members 20 via an adhesive. However, as shown in FIG. 9, the entire assembly can be fastened together via fasteners 50. Referring to Figure 9, the fastener 50 can include at least one fastener body 52 that can extend through the reflector panel 40, the block 10, the rod support member 20, and the first optional thermal spacer 41, and then into the cover bottom 44 and A second optional thermal spacer 45. In some embodiments, the fastener 50 can be directly engaged with the lid bottom 44 and the second optional thermal spacer 45 can be held in place on the lid bottom 44 by other fasteners and/or adhesives. The fastener 50 can include a head 54 that is configured to engage the reflector panel 40 and retain it on the underlying block 40.

However, since the fastener 50 can provide a mechanical connection between the shaft support member 20 and the cover bottom 44, the fastener 50 can grip the reflector panel 40 sufficiently tightly that the reflector panel 40 may be attached to the fastener 50. Slight deformation in or near the area, as indicated by arrow 58. This deformation of the reflector panel 40 may be undesirable as it may cause the reflector panel 40 to reflect light in the vicinity of the fastener 50 in a non-uniform manner and may result in, for example, partial brightness of the illumination panel 100. Uniformity.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present invention, solid state lighting panel 100 can be assembled as illustrated in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of pins 60 can be used to attach the reflector panel 40 to the block 10. The pin 60 can include a body 62 and a head 64. The body 62 of the pin can extend through the aperture 66 in the reflector panel 40 and into the corresponding aperture 68 in the block 10. The pin 60 can be press fit into the holes 66,68. Additionally, the pins 60 and/or apertures 68 can include features such as protrusions, recesses, and the like that can help retain the pin 60 in place in the aperture 68.

Since the reflector panel 40 can have a substantially different coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) than the block 10, it may be desirable to provide at least one pin 60 for each block 10 (and in some embodiments, at least for each block 10) Two pins 60) that maintain better positioning of the reflector panel and the underlying block 10. This can help reduce and/or prevent bending of the reflector panel 40 that may otherwise occur when operating the LCD display 100.

In some embodiments, the pin 60 can be formed from a white material, such as nylon and/or the same or similar material as the reflector panel 40, such as PET plastic. In this manner, the pin 60 can provide the same or similar reflectivity as the reflector panel 40, thus providing a more uniform light output from the backlight assembly 10. Moreover, since the function of the pin 60 can only hold the lightweight reflector panel 40 in place on the block 10, the pin 60 can relatively lightly clamp the reflector panel 40 and can not significantly render the reflector panel 40 The surface is deformed, thus potentially improving the uniformity of the backlight assembly 10.

The head 64 of the pin 60 can have a low profile such that when the pin 60 is in place, the head 64 can be placed substantially flush with the reflector panel 40. Thus, the pin 60 can serve as a functional extension of the reflector panel 40. Moreover, the head 64 of the pin 60 can be made lower so that light emitted from the cluster 12 on the block 10 is not substantially obscured.

As further illustrated in FIG. 10, the block 10 can have a hole or recess 72 therethrough that can be aligned with a corresponding aperture 73 in the shaft support member 20. The fastener 70 can extend through the aperture 73 in the shaft support member 20 and the optional thermal spacer 41 and into the cover bottom 44. In some embodiments, the fastener 70 can extend completely through the cover bottom 44. The fastener 70 can include a head portion 74 that engages the shaft support member 20 and holds the rod support member 20 in position against the thermal spacer 41 and/or the cover bottom 44. The head 74 can be at least partially disposed within the aperture 72 in the block 10. The head 74 can have a diameter that is smaller than the diameter of the aperture 72 such that the fastener 70 is not mechanically or electrically engageable with the block 10.

Likewise, the head 74 can have a diameter that is greater than the diameter of the aperture 73 in the shaft support member 20 such that the head 74 can engage the shaft support member 20. The head 74 of the fastener 70 can have a height that is less than the thickness of the square 10 such that the head 74 does not protrude above the upper surface of the square 10 when the fastener 70 is in place. In this manner, the fastener 70 may not deform or otherwise interfere with the reflector panel 40.

Since the fastener 70 may not directly contact the block 10, one of the potential ways of electrostatic discharge (ESD) may be avoided, thus potentially improving the operational reliability of the backlight assembly 10.

Moreover, since the fastener 70 may not need to hold the reflector panel 40 and/or the block 10 in place, the length of the fastener 70 may be shorter, which may reduce the overall weight of the system.

11 is a cross-sectional illustration of an LCD display panel assembly 110 that includes a light emitting panel 100 for use as a backlight unit, a diffuser 80, and an LCD screen 90. The LCD display panel assembly 110 can include other components such as a brightness enhancing film (not shown). Light generated by the backlight unit 100 passes through the disperser 80 and illuminates the LCD screen 90. The LCD screen 90 includes appropriately aligned baffles and associated filters configured to selectively release/block light of a selected color from the backlight unit 100 to produce a display image.

The backlight unit 100 can include a solid state backlight unit, such as the LED-based backlight unit described above, including a plurality of solid state light sources arranged in a two-dimensional array in the backlight unit 100. LED-based solid-state backlight unit for LCD screens, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 10/034,240, filed on Jan. 12, 2005, entitled &lt;&lt;RTIID=0.0&gt;&gt; It is described in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 10/022,332, filed on Dec. The content is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The diffuser 80 can help spread and/or disperse the light generated by the backlight unit 100 such that light reaching the LCD screen 90 can be more evenly distributed over the surface of the LCD screen 90. Dispersers for LED screens are known in the art and may be formed from materials such as acrylates.

Some of the light generated by backlight unit 100 may be internally reflected one or more times via diffuser 80 before it exits LCD screen 90 via one of LCD screens 90. This reflection of light (which may be referred to as light recycling) may help increase the uniformity of the display because the light rays from the source in the backlight unit 100 may become more randomly distributed as they are repeatedly reflected. In addition, the light recycling can also help increase the brightness and/or efficiency of the display, as it can be advantageously reflected back through the diffuser 80 to return light that may otherwise be lost due to absorption until it can be extracted via an open LCD baffle. .

A system and method for controlling a solid state backlight panel is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 11/368,976, entitled "Adaptive Adjustment of Light output of Solid State Lighting Panels", filed on March 6, 2006. It is described in the number 5308-632, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Referring to FIG. 12, a lighting panel 200 including a plurality of blocks 10 can be used as a lighting panel for a solid state lighting fixture or lighting fixture 260, in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. Light 266 emitted by luminaire 260 can be used to illuminate an area and/or an object. Solid state lighting fixtures are described in, for example, U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 11/408,648, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein to And the disclosure thereof is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed in the drawings and the specification of the invention Stated in the statement.

10,10',10"...Solid light squares

10A. . . First end

10B. . . Second end

12. . . Solid state light-emitting components

13. . . Electrical trace/carrier substrate

14. . . Encapsulated dome

15. . . Electric test pad

16. . . LED chip

17. . . Longitudinal central axis

19. . . First path

20. . . Rod support member

twenty one. . . Second path

twenty two. . . pad

22,26. . . Anode contact

twenty three. . . Concave

24,28. . . Cathode contact

25. . . Wire loop interconnect

27. . . Ridge/flange

29,33. . . Notch

30. . . Illuminated rod body assembly

30,31. . . LED string

32. . . Insulating spacer

33. . . Protrusion

35. . . Loopback connector

35R. . . conductor

36. . . Two-dimensional backlight array

37. . . Insulation Materials

40. . . Reflector panel

41. . . First thermal spacer

42. . . Aperture

42A. . . Side wall

44. . . Panel support member / cover bottom

45. . . Second optional thermal spacer

50. . . Fastener

52. . . Fastener body

54. . . head

60. . . pin

62. . . main body

64. . . head

66,68. . . hole

70. . . Fastener

72. . . Hole/notch

73. . . hole

74. . . head

80. . . Diffuser

90. . . LCD screen

100. . . Light panel assembly / backlight unit

110. . . LCD display panel assembly

200. . . Light panel

260. . . Solid state lighting fixtures / lighting fixtures

1 is a plan view illustration of a block for a solid state lighting unit in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

2 is a plan view illustration of a solid state light source for a solid state lighting unit in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

3 is a circuit diagram illustrating electrical interconnection of light sources on a block in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

4 is a plan view illustration of a shaft assembly for a solid state lighting panel in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

5 is a plan view illustration of a solid state lighting panel including a plurality of rod assemblies in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 6A is a cross-sectional illustration of a plurality of squares mounted to a shank in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 6B is a cross-sectional detailed illustration of adjacent blocks mounted on a shank in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 6C is a detailed plan view of the interconnection of two adjacent squares on a shank in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

7 is a plan view illustration of a reflector panel for use in a light panel, in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view of a lighting unit in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

9 is a cross-sectional illustration of a light unit in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional illustration of a light unit in accordance with other embodiments of the present invention.

11 is a cross-sectional illustration of an LCD display panel including a backlight unit, in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 12 is a schematic cross-sectional illustration of a light panel for overall illumination in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 13 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a rod support member in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

10. . . Solid state light square

12. . . Solid state light-emitting components

20. . . Rod support member

40. . . Reflector panel

41. . . First thermal spacer

42. . . Aperture

44. . . Panel support member / cover bottom

45. . . Second optional thermal spacer

60. . . pin

62. . . main body

64. . . head

66,68. . . hole

70. . . Fastener

72. . . Hole/notch

73. . . hole

74. . . head

Claims (61)

A solid state light emitting unit comprising: a plurality of solid state light emitting blocks, each of the solid state light emitting blocks comprising a flat surface and a plurality of solid state light sources on the flat surface, wherein each of the plurality of solid state light sources comprises a a multi-wafer light-emitting element cluster comprising a plurality of light-emitting devices; and a plurality of rod support members, wherein each of the rod support members includes at least the plurality of squares attached thereto The two are formed to form respective rod assemblies; wherein the respective solid state light sources on the solid state light squares of a rod assembly are electrically connected in series such that they are simultaneously excited when a voltage is applied thereto. The solid state lighting unit of claim 1, further comprising: a panel supporting member, wherein the plurality of rod assemblies are opposite to the solid light emitting blocks of the rod supporting members of the rod assemblies The side is attached to the panel support member. The solid state lighting unit of claim 1, wherein the panel supporting member comprises a cover base attached to the plurality of solid body blocks opposite to the plurality of solid body blocks. The solid state lighting unit of claim 3, further comprising a heat sink on the cover bottom, wherein the heat sink comprises anisotropic carbon. The solid state lighting unit of claim 4, wherein the heat sink comprises a sheet of thermally conductive material having a region and configured to conduct heat generated by the solid state lighting devices to the cover and configured to The biography The conducted heat is spread over the area of the heat sink to reduce thermal non-uniformity in the solid state lighting unit. The solid state lighting unit of claim 4, wherein the heat sink is between the cover bottom and the plurality of rod assemblies. The solid state lighting unit of claim 4, wherein the cover is attached between the heat sink and the plurality of shaft assemblies. The solid state lighting unit of claim 4, wherein the heat sink comprises a first heat sink between the bottom of the cover and the plurality of rod assemblies, the solid state lighting unit further comprising a second heat sink, wherein the cover The bottom is between the first heat sink and the second heat sink. The solid state lighting unit of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of rod assemblies comprises a thermally conductive elongated member, and wherein the plurality of rod assemblies are arranged side by side in the solid state lighting unit. The solid state lighting unit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of solid state light sources on one of the rod assemblies comprises a first solid state light source string and a second solid state light source string, the first solid state light source string An anode contact at one of the first ends of the rod assembly and a cathode contact at a second end of the rod body opposite the first end, and the second solid state light source string A second solid state light source string having a cathode contact at the first end of the shaft assembly and a cathode contact at the second end of the shaft assembly, and wherein the shaft The assembly further includes a loopback connector at one end of the shaft assembly, wherein the loopback connector is configured to connect the cathode contact of the first string to the anode contact of the second string . The solid state lighting unit of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of spacers between adjacent ones of the solid state lighting blocks on the respective rod assembly, wherein the plurality of spacers are directly adjacent to the adjacent blocks contact. The solid state lighting unit of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of spacers comprises a non-conductive elastomeric material. The solid state lighting unit of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of spacers includes a protrusion configured to conform to a respective one of the at least one of the adjacent solid state lighting blocks. The solid state lighting unit of claim 11, wherein each of the blocks comprises an electric pad on the flat surface, the solid state lighting unit further comprising: a wire loop on the first and second adjacent blocks Extending between the pads to electrically interconnect the pads of adjacent blocks across a spacer between the blocks, wherein the spacer is in direct contact with both the first and second adjacent blocks . The solid state lighting unit of claim 14, wherein the height of the wire loop from the flat surface is between about 0.02 吋 and about 0.12 。. The solid state lighting unit of claim 11, further comprising an insulating material on the wire loop. The solid state lighting unit of claim 11, wherein the electrical pads are in electrical communication with one or more of the LED wafers via circuit traces on the block such that current flows through the application of sufficient voltage to the pads The light sources and the light sources emit useful light. The solid state lighting unit of claim 1, further comprising one in the plural Reflector panels on the illuminated squares. The solid state lighting unit of claim 18, wherein the reflector panel comprises a diffused light reflector. The solid state lighting unit of claim 18, wherein the reflector panel includes a plurality of circular apertures therein, the plurality of circular apertures being aligned with respective ones of the plurality of solid state lighting elements, and wherein the solid state lighting elements At least partially disposed within the respective apertures. The solid state lighting unit of claim 20, wherein the apertures comprise a circular aperture having sidewalls that form an angle with the planar surface of the blocks. The solid state lighting unit of claim 18, further comprising a plurality of pins including a body and a head, wherein the pins are attached to the blocks using the pins, wherein the pins extend through the reflector panel One of the holes and one of the corresponding holes in one of the squares. The solid state lighting unit of claim 22, wherein the pins comprise a diffused light reflecting material. The solid state lighting unit of claim 22, wherein the pins extend into the blocks but do not enter the rod support members. The solid state lighting unit of claim 2, further comprising a fastener extending between at least one of the rod supporting members and the panel supporting member, wherein the fastener has a joint between the rod supporting members The panel support member is opposite the head on one side, and wherein the head is at least partially disposed within an aperture of a square and has a height that is less than a height of one of the squares. A solid state lighting unit as claimed in claim 25, wherein the head is spaced from the block such that it does not contact the block. The solid state lighting unit of claim 25, further comprising a reflector panel on the plurality of lighting blocks. The solid state lighting unit of claim 27, further comprising a plurality of pins including a body and a head, wherein the pins are used to attach the reflector panel to the blocks, wherein the pins extend through the reflector panel One of the holes and one of the corresponding holes in one of the squares. The solid state lighting unit of claim 28, wherein the pins extend into the blocks but do not enter the rod support members. A solid state lighting unit comprising: a panel supporting member; a plurality of solid state lighting blocks, each of the solid state lighting blocks comprising a flat surface and a plurality of solid state light sources on the flat surface, wherein the plurality of solid state light sources Each of the plurality of wafer light emitting element clusters comprising a plurality of light emitting devices; and a plurality of rod support members, wherein each of the rod support members includes the additional At least two of the plurality of squares to form respective rod assemblies; wherein the rod assemblies are mounted to the panel support member such that the rod support members are between the panel support members and the blocks . A solid state lighting unit as claimed in claim 30, further comprising a heat sink between the panel support member and the plurality of rod assemblies, wherein the heat sink comprises a sheet of thermally conductive material having a region and configured Will be The heat generated by the solid state lighting devices is conducted to the panel support member and is configured to reduce thermal non-uniformity in the solid state lighting unit by spreading the conducted heat to the area of the heat sink. The solid state lighting unit of claim 31, further comprising a reflector panel on the plurality of lighting blocks. The solid state lighting unit of claim 32, further comprising a plurality of pins including a body and a head, wherein the pins are attached to the blocks using the pins, wherein the pins extend through the reflector panel One of the holes and one of the corresponding holes in one of the squares. The solid state lighting unit of claim 33, wherein the pins extend into the blocks but do not enter the rod support members. The solid state lighting unit of claim 32, further comprising a fastener extending between at least one of the rod support members and the panel support member, wherein the fastener has a joint between the rod support members The panel support member is opposite the head on one side, and wherein the head is at least partially disposed within an aperture of a square and has a height that is less than a height of one of the squares. A solid state lighting unit as claimed in claim 35, wherein the head is spaced from the block such that it does not contact the block. A solid state lighting unit comprising: at least one rod supporting member; first and second solid light emitting blocks on the rod supporting member; and a gap between the first solid light emitting block and the second solid light emitting block a conductive spacer, wherein the non-conductive spacer is associated with the first and the The second illuminating block is in direct contact with both. The solid state lighting unit of claim 37, wherein the spacer comprises a non-conductive elastomeric material. The solid state lighting unit of claim 37, wherein the spacer comprises a protrusion configured to conform to a respective recess of at least one of the first solid state light square or the second solid state light square. The solid state lighting unit of claim 37, further comprising: an electric pad on a surface of the first block and the second block opposite to the rod supporting member; and a wire loop on the electric pad The extension extends to electrically interconnect the pads over the spacer. The solid state lighting unit of claim 40, wherein the height of the wire loop from the flat surface is between about 0.02 吋 and about 0.12 。. The solid state lighting unit of claim 40, further comprising: a plurality of parallel wire loops extending between the electrical pads to provide a redundant electrical interconnection between the electrical pads. The solid state lighting unit of claim 37, further comprising: first and second adjacent electrical contacts on a surface of the first lighting block opposite the rod supporting member; third and fourth phases An adjacent electrical contact on a surface of the second light-emitting block opposite to the rod supporting member; a first wire loop, the first electric pad and the second light-emitting block in the first light-emitting block Extending between the third pads for electrically interconnecting the first pad and the third pad over the spacer; a second wire loop extending between the second electric pad of the first light-emitting block and the fourth electric pad of the second light-emitting block for crossing the second electric pad and the first The fourth wire loop is electrically interconnected; wherein the first wire loop and the second wire loop are spaced apart by a distance d, the distance d being at least approximately equal to the first wire loop and the second wire loop distance from the first light emitting block And a height h of the surfaces of the second light-emitting blocks. The solid state lighting unit of claim 43, wherein the height h of the first wire loop and the second wire loop is less than about half of the distance d between the first wire loop and the second wire loop. A solid state light emitting block comprising: a substrate having a flat surface; a plurality of first series series connected LEDs on the substrate, the first strings having anode contacts respectively at a first end of the block And a cathode contact at a second end of the block opposite the first end; and a plurality of second series of series-connected LEDs having respective second ends at the square An anode contact and a cathode contact at the first end of the block; wherein each of the plurality of first strings and the plurality of second strings comprises: at least one first color LED string And emitting a second color LED string configured to emit light having a second wavelength when excited; and wherein the first plurality of strings The cathode contact of the first color string and the anode contact of the first color string of the second plurality of strings are in a direction parallel to a longitudinal central axis of the block from the first plurality of strings The cathode contact of the second color string and the anode contact of the second color string of the second plurality of strings are offset. The solid state light-emitting block of claim 45, wherein the cathode contact of the first color string of the first plurality of strings and the anode contact of the first color string of the second plurality of strings are greater than the first plurality The cathode contacts of the strings of the second color string and the anode contacts of the second color string of the second plurality of strings are further from the second end of the block. A method of forming a solid state light emitting rod assembly including a rod support member, the rod support member comprising a plurality of positioning holes and a plurality of solid state light emitting blocks, each solid light emitting block comprising at least one positioning hole, the method comprising Caulking the rod support member on a clamp, the clamp including at least one alignment pin aligned with one of the positioning holes in the shaft support member such that the alignment pin extends through the Positioning the hole; and placing one of the plurality of blocks on the rod support member such that the alignment pin extends through the positioning hole in the block; and attaching the block to the rod support member. The method of claim 47, wherein the attaching the block to the shank support member comprises: applying an adhesive to the shank support member prior to placing the slab on the shank support member. The method of claim 47, wherein the block comprises a first block, the first block includes a contact pad adjacent to an end thereof, and wherein the fixture comprises a second alignment pin, the method further comprising: Include a second square of contact pads adjacent to one end thereof And the second alignment pin extends through the positioning hole in the second block, and the end of the second block is adjacent to the end of the first block; and the first The contact pad of the block is electrically connected to the contact pad of the second block. The method of claim 49, wherein electrically connecting the contact pad of the first block to the contact pad of the second block comprises: between the contact pad of the first block and the contact pad of the second block Form a ring connection. The method of claim 50, further comprising: forming an insulating material on the ring connection. The method of claim 50, wherein the height of the loop connection is between about 0.02 吋 and about 0.12 。. The method of claim 50, wherein forming a ring connection between the contact pad of the first block and the contact pad of the second block comprises: contacting the contact pad of the first block with the second block A plurality of parallel loop connections are formed between the pads. The method of claim 50, wherein the first block comprises first and second contact pads and wherein the second block comprises first and second contact pads, the method further comprising: the first contact at the first block Forming a first ring connection between the pad and the first contact pad of the second block, and forming a second between the second contact pad of the first block and the second contact pad of the second block a ring connection, wherein the first ring connection is connected to the second ring by a distance d, the distance d being at least approximately equal to the first ring connection and the second One of the heights of the ring connection is h. The method of claim 54, wherein the height h of the first ring connection and the second ring connection is less than about half of the distance d between the first ring connection and the second ring connection. The method of claim 49, wherein electrically connecting the contact pad of the first block to the contact pad of the second block comprises: providing a stripline connection between the first block and the second block. The method of claim 49, further comprising: providing an insulating spacer between the first block and the second block. The method of claim 57, wherein providing an insulating spacer between the first block and the second block comprises: applying a liquid encapsulant in a seam between the first block and the second block And the dispensed liquid sealant is cured. The method of claim 57, wherein providing an insulating spacer between the first block and the second block comprises: pressing a preformed insulating member in a seam between the first block and the second block . The method of claim 59, wherein the preformed insulative member comprises a protrusion configured to conform to a corresponding one of the first block or one of the edges of the second block. A solid state light emitting block comprising: a substrate having a flat surface, a first end, a second end opposite the first end, and an extension between the first end and the second end a longitudinal center axis; a plurality of first series series connection on the surface on the substrate LEDs, the first string having an anode contact at the first end of the block and a cathode contact at the second end of the block; and a plurality of second series series connected LEDs, The second string has an anode contact at the second end of the block and a cathode contact at the first end of the block, wherein: the plurality of first strings and each of the plurality of second strings One includes: at least one first color LED string configured to emit light having a first wavelength when activated; and a second color LED string configured to emit one when activated a second wavelength of light; the first plurality of strings and the second plurality of strings extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal central axis; and the anode and cathode contacts of the first plurality of strings of the first color string And the anode and cathode contacts of the first plurality of strings of the first plurality of strings and the anode and cathode contacts of the second plurality of strings of the first plurality of strings and the second plurality of strings The anode and cathode contacts of the second color string are disposed in the longitudinal direction of the block Axis closer.